Boost for Tottenham as Arsenal ruled out of race for Leicester star who could be available in the summer

Arsenal are not in the race to sign Leicester City attacking midfielder James Maddison despite being heavily linked with the player, according to Fabrizio Romano.

This will come as a boost to Tottenham Hotspur, who have been admirers of the England international for a long time. Now, they seem to be one of the frontrunners in the race to sign him.

Maddison is thought to have turned down multiple contract offers from Leicester, amid links to Manchester City, Arsenal, Newcastle and Tottenham.

The 26-year-old has been in fine form for the Foxes this season, scoring nine goals and making five assists in 16 Premier League appearances – giving Madddison an impressive average of 0.88 goal contributions per match.

However, Leicester as a whole have struggled to find form this season, winning only seven of their 22 opening matches.

Although, they picked up a big three points with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Tottenham last Saturday, with Maddison putting in a Player of the Match performance, after scoring one goal and making an assist.

Mikel Arteta was thought to be a big fan of the Englishman after the Gunners were heavily linked with a switch for him last summer.

But, with Arsenal already having top-quality attacking midfielders like Martin Odegaard and Fabio Vieira in their ranks, there were questions over whether they actually need Maddison.

Now, according to Romano, despite Arsenal being a fan of the player, they are not actively in talks to sign him.

Writing for CaughtOffside, he said: “Despite reports, Arsenal are currently not in talks to sign James Maddison at this stage.

“Newcastle have had Maddison on their list since last summer.

“Nothing will be decided on Maddison’s future before May/June.”

Before Spurs’ defeat to Leicester, their assistant manager Cristian Stellini said: “We like Maddison.

“He is an important player in this league, a player with an important type of skill, like his delivery, his crossing, his right foot is a very important foot so he shoots, he crosses, he takes the set-pieces.

“He is a player you have to take care of. When you play against him, you have to be careful. When you feel how important is this type of skill, for sure you like this type of player.

“He’s a player with talent. At the moment he’s playing for Leicester, a team we play against. We take care of him like an opponent.”

With Arsenal now out of the race, it looks like Spurs could be the frontrunners for Maddison’s signature.

The attacker has just 18 months remaining on his current deal at the King Power Stadium, so this summer represents Leicester’s last chance to recoup a substantial transfer fee for him.

According to Transfermarkt, Maddison is valued at £55m. However, with several Premier League clubs interested, Spurs may ultimately have to stump up a bigger fee than that.